Those who have been following the Slow Fashion Movement will be familiar with the growing crisis of discarded clothing. For years, garments exported from the UK have accumulated in countries like Ghana, polluting beaches and wetlands and overwhelming local waste systems. As a result, several countries are now pushing back against the import of foreign textile waste, making it increasingly difficult to export. At the same time, landfill capacity remains critically low in parts of the UK, intensifying the issue at home.
Charity shops in the UK, which have traditionally relied on income from rag collections, are also feeling the strain. The declining quality of clothing has significantly reduced the value of these collections, leading to a sharp drop in revenue. What was once a profitable resale and recycling system has, over time, shifted into a growing waste management challenge.
Compounding this, the illegal dumping of textile waste on both public and private land in the UK has risen sharply over the past year, bringing the issue of waste management into even sharper focus.
Repair offers a powerful way to reduce waste while strengthening community ties. Around the world, volunteers, from skilled clothing stitchers to electrical repairers, dedicate their time each week to help others extend the life of their belongings.
Organisations like The Restart Project have been instrumental in supporting communities to host repair events and build local repair cultures. Their advocacy has also gained traction at the policy level, successfully urging UK MPs to recognise the value of repair—not only as a means to keep items out of landfill, but also as a practical solution to help ease the rising cost of living.
Repair cafés bring joy to everyone involved, the person fixing and the one having something repaired. There’s a shared sense of achievement in bringing an item back to life. Often, a piece of clothing is mended while the fixer and the owner chat about its story, why it matters to them, and why they’d rather keep it than let it end up in an ever-growing pile of waste. As Danielle Durant, an organiser and stitcher at a repair café in the East of England, puts it, “the joy on people’s faces when they see their items brought back to a life of continued use is priceless.”
Repair cafés are a wonderful (and usually free) resource for simple fixes, like broken seams, small tears, or missing buttons. For more complex work, such as zip replacements or alterations, it’s often best to turn to a local tailor or repair business that can help reshape garments that are still in good condition but no longer fit. Many repair groups also have online communities where people share advice and recommend trusted local services when a repair is beyond what the café can offer.
And while some fixes can feel intimidating, there’s plenty you can do at home with just a needle and thread. Even something as small as using a needle threader can make the process easier and might just be the start of your own repair journey.
Carrying out a successful repair gives you the confidence to try mending other things and the satisfaction of making a saving by not having to buy a replacement. Sewing is obviously not for everyone, but anyone can have an item repaired – either by someone they know who sews, at a repair café, or by using a repair and alterations company.
Improving the cost per wear of our clothes starts with making repair as normal as buying something new. Every stitch, every fix, is a small act of resistance against a system that pushes us to discard too quickly, slowing the flow of clothing into landfills, incinerators, and dumping grounds.
Start small. Mend one item, visit a repair café, or learn a simple stitch. Because the more we choose to repair, the closer we move toward a culture that values what we already have.
